


A Jiangshi's Love, a Human's Will

by CriticalDragon



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, HanMei, Human Hanzo, Jiangshi Mei, More tags to be added as the story continues!, Robot Dog Snowball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-01-17 01:50:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12354966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CriticalDragon/pseuds/CriticalDragon
Summary: Can an undead creature feel love? Can a human put his past behind him?





	1. The Archer

**Author's Note:**

> Jiangshi Mei and Human Hanzo! I plan on making multiple chapters of this story! Please enjoy and feedback is well appreciated!

The man was a wandering archer, trying to escape his blood filled past. He seeked the ultimate challenge or his sins would drown him in its guilt. He preferred he not sleep as the nightmares run his dreams. The man had arrived in Northern China, as rumors have heard that bringing in the head of a legendary creature would result in the finest reward: riches. But the man wasn't interested in the riches: he was interested in the kill. Every kill made him full of pride. Every kill brought honor upon him. And with his redeemed honor, only then would he feel redemption.

He arrived at a village in Northern China, near a forest. His gathered intel during his travels had hinted that the creature he seeks had been spotted near this very village. Walking to a nearby food carriage he asked the owner for information. 

"Haven't seen people like you around here. I feel honored." The owner said with a chuckle. 

"I am to gather information. I have heard that a legendary creature has been lurking near his village." 

The owner's tone got serious. "You're here to... kill it?" 

"That is my main goal." 

"Well I got no info to offer. But the village elders have all the information you need. Follow the trail behind me to get to their house. Just a small walk." 

The man dropped 10 yuan on the carriage. "One rice ball, please." 

The owner nodded and gave the man a nice, warm, wrapped up rice ball. The man opened the wrapper and took a bite. 

"Not bad." The man said as the warm food filled his stomach's void. 

"I feel honored. Again. In any case, good luck on your hunt for the legendary creature." 

"Thank you." And the man took the trail to the elder house, consuming his rice ball along the way. 

Arriving at the house, it looked run down. How could old people live in there? Wooden planks were missing and most of all, the door was wide open. Allowing himself to enter, the main room was barely visible, no sources of light other than the dim lanterns in the corners. The man then noticed moments later that there were already 5 elders seated in the middle, side to side. Perhaps they were awaiting him. He decided to stand, avoiding the rather dirty floor.

"We have heard you want to slay the Jiangshi? Ha! You must have a death wish." The elder on the left end cackled.

"Truly a desire that defies all reason." The elder on the right end said, voice full of drama.

"Perhaps you have a sense of honor within you? Hmph." The elder on the left-middle said, with millions of thoughts clearly swarming inside his head.

"State your business. Why are you here to slay the Jiangshi?" The elder on the right-middle said, voice blunt. 

The middle elder did not speak, so the man did.

"My name is Hanzo,” He did not want to include his clan name. “I am here to hunt down this Jiangshi because I believe it would cleanse the world of one less creature, and bring honor upon my name... and my clan." The clan part was a bit hard to say for the man. For what he did in his past caused him to leave his clan."I am particularly new to this Jiangshi, as my clan did not possess resources to provide info about the creature. So I was forced to gather info on my own about this Jiangshi."

"Pfft. Some clan." The left end elder said. The other elders grunted in agreement.

"Then you must be from somewhere else." It was the middle elder who spoke. 

Hanzo was surprised. He actually spoke?

"You must be from Japan." The other elders gasped in surprise. 

"How did you know?" Hanzo said blankly, as he had no excuse.

"All clans in China know about the Jiangshi. Foreign countries spill out fake tales about the creature, claiming it is nothing more than a myth, therefore they do not make efforts to gather info. Jiangshi do exist, and one has been terrorizing our village." The middle elder said.

“Normally we elders usually do not allow anyone to take on a Jiangshi, and those who do have returned very frightened.” The right end elder said.

“But you are very different from the other adventurers and foreign fighters who faced it. You seem like you can take out a Jiangshi by not through killing it... hmm.... no..." The left-middle elder said.

"What do you mean?" Hanzo said, voice and tone unchanging, still standing.

"Tell me something, archer," the middle elder noticing his bow and quiver, strapped behind his back.

"Can a Jiangshi feel love?"

Hanzo was sure he did not hear that correctly. “I beg your pardon? I am sure I did not hear that right.”

“You did.” The right-middle elder said.

“You heard me clearly so answer my question. Can a Jiangshi feel love?” The middle elder growled.

Hanzo cleared his throat. “If my information speaks true, Jiangshi are nothing more than undead corpses.” 

The middle elder chuckled. “Yes, that is most true. Except this Jiangshi we have is a more special case.”

“We have recieved sighting reports of this Jiangshi running around and walking. Granted it still hops, but only sometimes. As if... it’s like a hobby.” The left end elder said.“And its identified as a female... often being accompanied by a small demon monster.” The right end elder said.

“And so you all believe I can defeat this special Jiangshi with love?” Hanzo said with caution. 

“We will find out soon enough,” The middle elder said. “Head to the forest near the mountains up north. That is where the Jiangshi hopefully is, according to the sighting reports.” 

“Very well. My gathered information knows how to counter Jiangshi.” Hanzo said with assurance. 

The 5 elders bowed at Hanzo. “We wish you the greatest luck in your journey.” They all said at the same time. Hanzo bowed back. “Thank you.” And left the elder house. 

_Killing a Jiangshi though love. But why? And how? They are nothing more than undead corpses._ Hanzo was lost in his thoughts as he walked. 

He had a lot of planning ahead of him. But little did he know, a dark figure peaking from a few trees was gazing at Hanzo, intrigued. 

“Looks like things are about to get interesting, Snowball.” And the sounds of a growl were heard.


	2. Preparations and Nightmares

The day was still bright. Good, Hanzo still had time to prepare himself for his hunt. Reviewing his gathered intel, Jiangshi only appear during the night and dark places, and the shadows of night and dark were one of Hanzo’s best friends. He practically lived in the shadows. Trained in the shadows. 

Upon returning to the village, the villagers had heard about his hunt for the Jiangshi, and they welcomed their services to him. It wouldn’t hurt to be well prepared. If what the elders said were true, then he had to prepare for the worst and the unexpected. Using an empty storage house as his temporary home, Hanzo reviewed his intel once more. And with swift thinking, ordered the villagers to work. He ordered for arrows made from peach wood, as it can brutally harm the Jiangshi, a bag full of fake money to lure the Jiangshi around wherever he wanted it to go, and a lighter to start fires, as Jiangshi hate being in light. And just in case, he ordered glutinous rice to use as a sort of stun attack on the Jiangshi. 

“It will take some time to prepare all your needed items, sir. Especially the peach wood arrows. May I suggest you get some rest before nighttime? It will be a long night tonight considering your hunt for the Jiangshi.” One of the villagers politely said to Hanzo.

“Hm... I will consider it. Thank you.” Hanzo said with a bow to the villager.

The villager simply responded with a bow of his own, and quickly got to work with the other villagers. 

Hanzo realized the villager was right. It was time to rest before the hunt. He had been traveling around the world with little to no sleep. All nighters were very common with him. Laying down on his makeshift bed of cloth, he closed his eyes and began to sleep, fast.

But Hanzo had completely forgotten why he hated to sleep.

His nightmares.

They were always the same memory, but different at times in intensity. A large dojo room, with a giant scroll in the middle. Cherry blossom petals were stained in ash, blood was spilled, clashes of weapons were heard. Voices echoed in grunts and pain. And before he knew it, he stood there, blood stained, and a body in front of him. Dead. But it wasn’t an enemy’s blood.

It was his own family’s blood.

The dead body reached out for him, and whispered in agony: “Brother..... why.....” 

Suddenly the body turned into darkness and engulfed Hanzo, which caused him to jump from his makeshift bed, sweating, confused, and somewhat angry. It was yet another dream of the same tragedy, long ago. He cursed at himself in slience.

A knock on the door is what shook him back into reality. Walking to the door and opening it, was the same villager from earlier, carrying a bag.

”Sir, the sun is setting. Here are all your supplies as requested. Its time to hunt.” Hanzo took the bag and bowed to the villager. “Thank you. I shall prepare the rest of my belongings and depart for the northern forest near the mountains.” Hanzo bowed again. The villager did too. And Hanzo closed the door.” 

After a few minutes, Hanzo departed from the storage house with all his gear and supplies strapped up to him. He turned facing the mountains up north. Before he started walking he heard noises behind him. Turning, he met a crowd of villagers, holding and offering additional food and drinks for his hunt. Hanzo took the items, bowing each time to represent his thanks.

”It isn’t much, but its the best we could offer. Good luck on your hunt.” One of the offering villagers said.

Hanzo simply responded with another bow to represent his thanks once more. A young boy then walked up to Hanzo, offering him a small bottle of water.

”You’re gonna get rid of the scary bad monster, right? My mom and dad say you are.”

Hanzo chuckled, took the water bottle and patted the young boy’s head. “Do not worry, young child. I will slay the bad creature.” 

The boy smiled. “Awesome! And, if it isn’t too much trouble, can you get rid of my little brother too? He really annoys me a lot, and I hate him alot!” His voice hushing down to a whisper. 

At first, Hanzo wanted to just not say anything and walk away. But that would be foolish of him. He kneeled down to the boy’s height and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. 

”Young child, it is normal at your time of age to hate your younger brother. But, as you grow older of age, you will learn to love your brother.” Hanzo said with a wise but sad tone.

”But why? I hate my brother so much...”

”I once had a brother like you. I hated him as well, its like that annoying pest you have to keep around. But... eventually every older brother will learn to love their younger brother. You will realize this. They are just as important as our mother and father. When they can’t get guidance from their mother or father, they will rely on the older brother to walk with them. Cherish the moments you have with your young brother, child. Learn to love him as you love your mother and father.”

Hanzo’s words had appeared to strike the boy’s heart, as he cried silent tears. “I... I will! Thank you!” And the boy ran back to his family, Hanzo noticing him hugging his younger brother. Hanzo smiled, turned away from the crowd of villagers and walked, the villagers waving good bye and good luck. Hanzo shed a single tear while walking, reminded of his past once more, but all of his more positive memories with his brother. “Heh...” said Hanzo.

After a few minutes of walking slightly altered terrain and hills, Hanzo arrived at the forest. The sky and ground were illuminated with the bright light of the white moon. The sounds of night were silent but present. The forest, however, remained dark. The surroundings inside the forest were nothing but a blanket of darkness. Hanzo couldn’t see anything in front of him. This hunt was going to be difficult and the night will be long.

With all that in mind, he stepped into the forest, bow and peach wood arrow in hand.

#####  **Meanwhile, at the elder house...**

”It would appear the boy has entered the forest.” The left end elder said.

The elders had entered their sleeping room, their beds sorted like a row to represent the positions they sat in the large empty middle room. They grunted in hearing the left end elder’s announcement. The middle elder stiffened out a rather loud laugh. The other elders looked at him.

“What is so funny, Nosuko?” The left-middle elder asked.

Laughing again, he turned to face the other elders. “I have confidence that this man will fix what I have done, so long ago. Will I finally see peace in my soul? Or will endless suffering await me in my death?”

The other elders remained silent.

“Come, my brothers and sisters. It is time to rest and await the results.” Nosuko said. And so the elders retired to their beds, awaiting the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC reveal! I will reveal the other elders’ names as the story progresses! Hoped you enjoyed!


	3. Archer, Jiangshi, and a Hunt (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or Hanzo vs Mei and Snowball, part 1. 
> 
> Due to how long I planned their fight out, I decided to split the chapter into two. If all goes well on my end this week (or I don’t become extremely lazy) I’ll have the conclusion done by Thursday or Friday! And if not I’ll have it up some time in the coming weeks. 
> 
> As always, I hoped you enjoy reading this!

The forest was awfully quiet. The sound of a branch snapping could echo through the whole area. Hanzo took careful steps as he further wandered into the dark forest. No birds were chirping, no bugs made a slight sound. Luckily, the moonlight was piercing through some of the trees, giving Hanzo some vision. Other than that, it was just absolute silence. It could make a regular person or warrior cower. But Hanzo wasn’t regular. Hanzo had experienced these situations before. He even meditated in the Aokigahara forest in Japan for a good whole day. Hanzo would meditate here if he wanted to. But he was on a hunt. There was no time for meditation.

Time would be Hanzo’s friend and enemy in this hunt. He had until sunrise to hunt down the Jiangshi as the creature would burn out in the sun. But he had a feeling that this was going to be a long night. Perfect for him. Lots of time to hunt.

Putting his focus into his sense of hearing, he took quiet and slow steps, listening for any distinctive sound that could reveal the Jiangshi to him. Nothing. But he had to be patient. Eventually the Jiangshi would reveal itself to him.

As Hanzo walked, he then suddenly stepped on something that wasn’t dirt or grass. It was soft, and squishy. Looking down, he realized that he just stepped on a dead squirrel. A look of disgust befell Hanzo. Picking it up, he noticed rather unusual wounds on the squirrel. There were bite marks and gashes all around the dead squirrel, skin was partially ripped off and Hanzo could spot some of the squirrel’s organs inside. Putting it down, he continued his hunt, trying to discard the image of the dead squirrel in his mind.

But as Hanzo walked, he encountered more dead animals, all with bite marks, and their bodies ripped open, dry blood on the ground. Hanzo, in the very least was horrified. The animals here were prey to the predator. Like a slaughterhouse. Hanzo enjoyed wildlife. He had to find and kill this Jiangshi before more animals are killed and eaten!

And then, with his heightened sense of sound, heard a giggle.

With swift speed he turned to the left and fired his peach wood arrow into the dark. The sound of an arrow hitting a tree was heard. He missed.

The hunt had begun.

Pulling out another peach wood arrow and putting it on his bow he put his focus on all his hearing. He closed his eyes. Taking a step forward, Hanzo heard yet another giggle. It was louder, meaning that the Jiangshi was nearby. Firing another peach wood arrow he hit a rock, the arrow breaking on impact.

Cursing to himself, he decided that his current position was too exposed. The Jiangshi could attack him from every direction it pleased. With silent haste, he ran. He ran north, to try to get to the mountains. There he could plan his next attack.

But as he ran, he heard more giggles. Louder giggles. It was as if the Jiangshi was right behind him. Matching him in speed. And yet he heard no footsteps. It was silent, just like him. Hanzo couldn’t help but smile and give a quiet chuckle. He was... impressed.

After running for about 8 minutes Hanzo stopped near a rock to catch his breath. The giggles stopped. He knew the Jiangshi was watching him. But where? And why doesn’t it attack? Grabbing another arrow he kneeled down and began to think. If the Jiangshi was more faster and silent than him, why doesn’t it attack him? He was utterly confused. As he thought more about the Jiangshi’s strange strategy, he then remembered what one of the elders said back at the village.

_“Normally we elders usually do not allow anyone to take on a Jiangshi, and those who do have returned very frightened.”_

_Returned very frightened._

Those words pieced together his quick theory. This Jiangshi has not killed a single person. Instead, it feeds on the local wildlife in this forest, which explains why there are dead animals. And when humans do arrive and try to kill it, it uses the dark, bleary environment as well as its silent speed to keep up with the human and institute deep fear into the human, causing them to become very frightened and run away. Clever. But Hanzo thought again, why would this Jiangshi not want to kill a single person? Does it dislike human blood? Has it even killed a human before?

But as Hanzo looked up to check his surroundings he saw a girl, dressed up in purple garments, a picture of a swan on her chest. She was wearing glasses and a hat, with a particularly piece of paper nailed to the hat. Her face was pale, with red circles on her cheeks. Her hair, pulled into two ponytails behind her. Her hands were folded together, but Hanzo could see claws on them. There were also visible fangs on her mouth. She was wearing boots with a sharp thorn on them. She was also standing right in front of him.

Hanzo had quickly realized, this is the Jiangshi. Where in the world did she come from? But he also couldn’t help but think about her appearance. She looked...cute.

The two gazed at each other. The girl was unsure what would happen next. But Hanzo knew.

Then the girl pushed up her glasses and spoke. “Um...h-hi...” was all that she could say.

Hanzo did not respond. Instead, he kept his gaze on her, but quietly reached into his bag to pull out a handful of gluttonous rice.

The girl continued. She was very nervous, Hanzo’s stare intimidating her. “I’m... Mei. Uh.. nice to meet you.” She tried to match his scary stare with her own. “I.. I think you should leave this forest now-“

Then, Hanzo’s response wasn’t words. He threw a handful of gluttonous rice at Mei. But at the same time, loud footsteps were heard, and a large white dog leaped in front of the space between Hanzo and Mei, blocking the gluttonous rice from reaching its target. All that conspiring in one second. Hitting the rock face first, the dog got up and shaked off the pain. It then growled at Hanzo.

Mei went wide-eyed and gasped. Putting her hand on the dog, she asked: “Oh my gosh! Snowball! Are you alright?!” The dog looked and nodded at Mei. She smiled. “That’s good, my Snowball.” Mei looked at Hanzo, her demeanor becoming angry. Hanzo took note of this, and pulled out a peach wood arrow from his quiver, readying himself for battle.

“I take it that was gluttonous rice? I’m trying to be nice to you!” Mei’s voice growing louder.

Hanzo did not respond. He simply kept pulling his arrow back, aiming at Mei. It seemed that she knew about her weaknesses.

Mei let out a sigh. “Fine. If that’s how you are going to act, then I think you need to learn a lesson, archer.”

“Then let us not waste any more time, Mei.” Hanzo said, welcoming her challenge and firing his arrow. Mei dodged the arrow with ease. She then ran past Snowball and at Hanzo, attempting to punch him. Hanzo easily avoided the attack and tripped her with his feet, causing her to land hard on her back. Hanzo then grabbed another arrow from his quiver and fired at Mei at close range.

But Hanzo had forgotten about Snowball. The dog quickly leaped and intercepted the arrow with his mouth, charging into Hanzo. Falling on his back due to Snowball, Hanzo intercepted the dog’s sharp teeth assault with his bow, Snowball snapping the intercepted arrow in half in front of him. Hanzo was able to throw the dog to his left with a lot of his own force, but Snowball was able to get a bite on his shirt, ripping off the whole left sleeve and exposing a particular looking tattoo that cover his whole arm. Hanzo then got up and ran, Mei getting up and following him with Snowball.

Hanzo kept on running until he decided to take cover behind a large tree. Mei stopped nearby, trying to listen to him. He peeked from his tree and saw Mei kneeling near a tree as well.

Snowball was with her, obviously. The dog was sniffing out for him, hunting him. The hunter had become the hunted. 

He pulled out another peach wood arrow and fired at Mei, and ran. 

Snowball intercepted the arrow and snapped it in half. The dog ran after in the direction of where the arrow was fired, pinning Hanzo’s scent, with Mei following after telling Snowball to wait up.

Thinking as he ran, he decided that he had to separate Mei and Snowball. The dog was tracking down Hanzo through his scent. So he had to conceal his scent from Snowball. He grabbed his lighter from his bag, and snapped off a bunch of tree branches. He then light the branches on fire, and scattered them around. Quickly moving from the lighted tree branches he set another bunch on fire.

But Hanzo took cover behind a different tree as he heard sniffing and panting from Mei and Snowball. They saw the lighted tree branches, and his plan worked. The dog was having trouble pinning his scent again.

Using this window of opportunity to catch a break, Hanzo checked his quiver: 2 arrows left. Great. How many did the villagers prepped him? Regardless, he had to work with what he had. But as he pulled one of the arrows out, he heard Mei speak. He peaked and saw her kneel and pet Snowball, the dog whimpering, frustrated.

”Don’t worry, Snowball. He’s using these branches as a distraction. He is trying to hide his scent. We’ll have to draw him out... or better yet....” a smirk appeared on Mei’s face and her tone got cheery. _“we’ll freeze him out!”_ Snowball barked happily wildly.

Hanzo cursed at himself and raised his right brow. She immediately knew what his plan was. And what did she mean by _freeze him out?_

”Snowball, you know what to do! Its been so long since we done this! I’m excited!” Mei giggled. Snowball nodded and Hanzo peaked away and braced himself. This was the unexpected.

He heard Snowball took in a huge amount of air and held it.

“Hey archer!” She called out to Hanzo, wherever he was.

Hanzo was ready for anything at this point. He wouldn’t be slightly surprised if Mei just appeared in front of him.

_**“Dòng zhù! Bùxǔ zǒu!”**_

And all Hanzo heard and felt was cold.


	4. Archer, Jiangshi, and a Hunt (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt reaches its conclusion.

Mei appearing in front of Hanzo wouldn’t have surprised him in the least, but this was beyond that.

The forest went from quiet to winds capable of knocking down trees and launching away rocks, there was suddenly snow blowing everywhere. Hanzo had no idea what just happened and how it happened. All he knows is that it is very cold and he has to brace himself for the time being. He put his bow down and pit the peach wood arrow back into his quiver and huddled himself close together, attempting to gather his remaining body heat and staying close to the tree he took cover in.

After what seemed like an eternity the winds stopped and the snow ceased to blow over Hanzo.

Suffering hypothermia would be the least of his concerns. Releasing himself from his huddled position he brushed off the small piles of snow that was over him. He grabbed his half buried bow and nocked a peach wood arrow into it.

He remembered: 2 peach wood arrows remaining, including this one. His main objective was to kill Mei. Snowball was just an annoyance. Killing the dog would make it a bit more easier for him, but he had to make sure the last peach wood arrow would hit Mei in the head. And it won’t be easy.

Speaking of Mei, he wondered where the Jiangshi was. Did she use that storm to her advantage?

Peaking out of the tree, he saw her kneeling near Snowball. The dog looked exhausted as it was on the ground, looking rather exhausted.

”Snowball, you did great. Now get some rest. You’ve earned it.” The Jiangshi said to the dog, patting it and rubbing it with her hands. ”I’ll look for the archer. Don’t worry about me, Snowball. Get back home when you are able to get up, okay?” The dog looked and nodded at Mei. It breathed deeply. The Jiangshi got up, brushed off some snow on her, and closed her eyes. 

It was clear to Hanzo that Snowball is responsible for the sudden snowstorm. But how in the world was it able to do that? There would be no time to question. There was still a hunt he had to finish.

Mei was trying to hear him. But Hanzo knew how to keep his breathing under control, preventing the slightest breath from his mouth be heard. He couldn’t move, or the sound of snow crushing under his feet would cause noise.

But Hanzo had one more trick up his sleeve.

Quietly reaching inside his bag, he pulled out the bag of fake coins. If he could distract the Jiangshi well enough that her hearing would not detect Hanzo, he had his chance. He also had to lure her away from Snowball, in case the dog would get up after recovering from exhaustion.

He pulled out a coin. He tossed it to his right side, hitting a nearby tree and making a ringing sound.

Moments later, he saw the girl at the source of the sound, looking.

He tossed another coin at a tree, making the same sound. She rushed to it, no sound made but visible footprints in the snow.

He decided to make his move after the third coin. Moving along with the sound of the coins hitting the trees he lured Mei around the forest, eventually stopping by a small pond. By then Hanzo ran out of coins. He had one remaining. He tossed the coin and it hit a small rock near the pond and then it landed into the water, making a splash noise. He drawed his bow as this was happening. Hiding near a tree, waiting.

Mei appeared at the pond seconds later. At this point she was annoyed. She even picked up some of the coins Hanzo threw. Her back was facing Hanzo, so he had the perfect shot.

”Show yourself, you coward!” Mei yelled out. “Have you have no honor in face to face combat?” She was trying to taunt him.

Hanzo chuckled silently. He was a warrior, yes. But he was an assassin. His honor resides in shadows.

Pulling back his bowstring even farther, he lined up the shot.

_This creature was impressive in putting up a challenge.... but it is the hunter that will always best the creature._

He released the arrow, flying fast, and flying toward the unsuspecting Jiangshi’s head.

Then...

_**CRASH!** _

Hanzo knew that was not the sound of a Jiangshi’s head being pierced by an arrow.

He looked closer, and saw metallic parts fly and bolts scatter. Electricity flashed before his eyes.

Hanzo hit something, but who?

He then heard the whimpers of a dog. He could not believe who he just hit.

Snowball. The dog that he thought was out of his way, but somehow recovered from its exhausted condition from unleashing that sudden snowstorm? As he looked closer, he saw the electricity spark from the dog and metal parts were visible from where the dog was hit by the arrow.

Snowball was a metal dog? Hanzo admitted to himself, this hunt was full of surprises.

But Mei on the other hand did not notice Snowball until she turned where she heard the arrow and saw Snowball take the hit for her. When the dog crashed to the ground, she rushed to its side, calling its name.

”No! Snowball! You... you can’t... leave me...” her voice strained.

The robot dog looked at Mei and whined one last time before shutting down and becoming unresponsive.

She grabbed the arrow that impaled Snowball and gave a sad smile. “Thank you...my friend.”

Mei stood up and looked where the arrow was fired. Hanzo was already running. She snapped the arrow in her hand and ran after him, swift and silent.

Hanzo was seconds ahead of Mei, but he had to think of something. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. He ran out of coins, gluttonous rice and somehow his lighter couldn’t spark.

Hanzo could feel her. She was catching up.

He then looked at his left arm, exposed earlier when Snowball ripped his left sleeve off. He then had one last idea. It was all a gamble now. And one he was willing to take.

He stopped running. Mei caught up to him, and charged head-on, but Hanzo easily predicted her attack and dodged with ease, causing her to ram into a tree and knocking it over, causing a loud boom as it fell to the ground. He ran again to get some distance between the girl. Once he was at a considerable distance, he entered a kneeling position and loaded his final peach wood arrow into his bow.

Mei got up and pushed her glasses up. She then saw the archer’s left arm glow a bright blue color. She squinted her eyes so she could see better. Are those... dragons? They appeared to be entering into the arrow loaded into the bow. Mei was rather intrigued than cautious on what could happen.

_You have surprises, Jiangshi. Impressive, to say the least. Now let me show you a surprise of my own._

Hanzo pulled his bowstring back and aimed at Mei.

_**“Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!”** _

The arrow flew forward for a few milliseconds before 2 giant blue dragons appeared from the arrow. The dragons roared out, spiraling and soaring towards Mei. They looked hungry. 

Mei snapped out of her fascination. “Oh my gosh!” But instead of running, she huddled herself close together, hoping that the dragons would pass by. It wasn’t the best idea she had, but somehow that was her action. But suddenly ice had emerged from the ground and encased her.

Hanzo gave a confused look. When the dragons passed by and dissipated, the block of ice in front of him was still standing. Seconds later, it broke open, revealing a still well Jiangshi. She gave a surprised look.

”Wow! That was cool!!!” She yelled out. Even she had no idea what she just did.

”How....?!” Hanzo audibly stammered out.

Looking at him, she gave a smile. “Sometimes, I surprise myself!” She charged at Hanzo.

Hanzo dodged to the left, but he somehow tripped on a small rock and fell over. Mei quickly recovered her balance after missing her attack and pinned Hanzo’s arms and legs with her body.

Hanzo could barely move his body. _What strength! She is not even applying pressure!_ Hanzo struggled for a bit before the he locked eyes with the Jiangshi.

Out of ideas, he had faced defeat, and death.

_So... this is how I die. The creature bests the hunter in the end..._

They kept on gazing at each other until Hanzo spoke. “What are you waiting for? Kill me. You have bested me.”

The Jiangshi said nothing, but began to close in on his neck, keeping her gaze on him.

But she stopped at his face.

The two looked at each other once more. Catching the more slightest details of their face.

Then, she slowly removed her right hand from his left arm.

Hanzo didn’t even notice her right hand had moved until he saw her curl it into a fist.

He tried to move his mouth to say a word, but she swinged her fist into him. He felt nothing but pain, and darkness cover his vision.

He blacked out into nothing, uncertain of what comes next.

Mei looked at his unconscious body, doubt in her mind. Was she really doing the right thing? Letting him live? 

_Yes. This is the right thing to do. He can..._

She then picked him up with her arms and looked up. The color orange painted the sky.

Sunrise.

Moving quick, she rushed off, unconscious archer in tow, to pick up the destroyed Snowball and retreat to her home in darkness.

As she ran, she questioned herself. How was she able to summon forth ice to protect her from the archer’s dragons? Even to herself, she is a mystery.

Nonetheless, she kinda had... _fun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlucky Hanzo... tripping over a rock.


End file.
